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As we all know, the Lions were officially knocked out of the postseason following their 23-10 Christmas day loss to the Vikings. This marked the first time the Lions would miss the playoffs since 2022, when they had the same record of 9-8. There are a few huge differences between the two seasons, though, as the Lions were coming off just 3 wins in 2021, making 9-8 feel like a really good season. However, this year the Lions were coming off a historic 15-2 season, where they had the most wins of any Lions team, ever. This made the pain of missing the playoffs even worse, as Lions fans had legit Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season. Those are obviously gone now.

The Lions had a lot of turnover this off-season, starting with having to replace both coordinators, followed by their All-Pro right guard and center also leaving, both for their own reasons. They lost a handful of other players too, namely cornerback Carlton Davis, who took his talents to New England, who is hosting a playoff game this weekend. This was a huge hit for Detroit, as they started the season off poorly in Green Bay, and it didn’t really get much better. They did play a bit better for a handful of games following, but couldn’t remain consistent on either side of the ball. Whether it be play calling, execution, game management, injuries, or a mix of it all, the Lions just could not get it done this season. The biggest issue I saw was the team just didn’t have the ‘grit’ they have had the past few seasons, getting pushed around in the trenches regularly. It has not been normal to see the Lions losing along the line of scrimmage since Dan Campbell took the job over. On top of that, in years past the Lions would exceed expectations. This season they fell way short.

With that being said, the Lions just got a much needed win against Chicago to close the season out, making them 2-0 vs the Ben Johnson-led Bears. However, there are some negative ramifications of this win, as the Lions dropped down to the 17th pick in this years draft. They could have moved all the way to 11 with a loss, but I won’t sit here and argue they should’ve lost that game. It was a much needed win for morale among players and coaches, as well as fans. As much as I’d like a higher pick, it sure was nice to beat Johnson as they head into the playoffs.

Lets take a look at what this off-season could, and probably should, look like for Detroit if they want to get back to Super Bowl contention.

No. 1: Restructure big contracts.

The Lions have many needs this off-season, there is no argument about that. However, without money they can’t really fix them. Per the NFL’s projected cap space, the Lions are sitting somewhere between -$6 million and -$12 million, which is obviously not ideal given the aforementioned needs the Lions have. However, the Lions have the ability to create quite a bit of cap room with just a handful of restructures or cuts. In the NFL, a player signs a contract with X amount of guarantees, and X amount of signing bonus. The signing bonus doesn’t count against the cap, meaning NFL teams can find ways out of these cap space issues. Luckily, the Lions have that option.

RESTRUCTURES:

QB Jared Goff: Goff is currently owed $69 million against the cap in 2026, a number I definitely expect to go down. The Lions helped themselves a bit when they did this deal, structuring it with a low bonus, giving Goff a reason to restructure. Goff is currently set to get a $14.6 million bonus, and the Lions would be smart to try and convert at least $30 million of his cap hit into a bonus, which would clear about half of his cap hit. It would mean the Lions owners have to pony up some dough, but they definitely should do it.

WR Amon-Ra St Brown: Similar to Goff, St Brown has a high cap hit ($33.1M) with a low bonus ($3.3M) meaning they could do a very similar restructure, converting half of his cap hit ($15M) into a signing bonus.

DL Alim McNeill: Again, McNeill has a high cap hit ($28.9M) and low bonus ($2M), so you do the same, converting half of his cap hit ($14M) into a signing bonus.

OT Penei Sewell: Once again, Sewell has a high cap hit ($28M) and a low bonus ($3M), you can convert half of his cap hit into a bonus ($14M).

There are more players you could restructure, but these are the big ones that can fix the cap. Just these moves alone would clear $70 million in cap space, leaving the Lions with between $58-$65 million in cap room. Trust me, all of these players would say yes to this, simply because this means they get the money up front. The only thing holding this back would be cheap owners, which the Lions don’t seem to have this time around. These moves would open up the Lions’ possibilities in free agency, specifically when talking center or edge, which are the Lions’ two biggest needs.

No. 2: Fix the offensive line.

As aforementioned, the Lions lost two key starters along the offensive line last off-season, and signs are pointing to Taylor Decker also retiring, citing his nagging injuries in post game interviews after the season. This means the Lions will have to continue to build the offensive line, even after drafting two starter level players last year in Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier. There have been rumors Tate Ratledge is the future of the center position for them, but we have yet to see him play a single snap there yet. If Ratledge can stick at center, we are really only looking at needing a tackle, with Mahogany and Frazier able to play guard. If Ratledge can’t play center… we might have some issues. There’s a small possibility Frazier could play tackle though, as he played all over the line at LSU. He has the build for it, at 6’6″, 325lbs with arms just under 33″. Compared to All-Pro Penei Sewell, who is 6’5″ 335lbs with just over 33″ arms, it’s certainly not outside of the realm Frazier could take over a tackle spot. He also started 13 games at either side in college, with 11 of them coming at left tackle. If he is able to play left tackle, this is a no brainier in my opinion. Now, I don’t want to put all of my eggs in that basket, but we really need to find a way to get Frazier on the field, especially when you really don’t want to put more capital in a position than needed. No matter what, the Lions are in a position where they inevitably have to draft an offensive lineman who can start for us in 2026, whether it be a tackle or center.

Below we go over a few names to watch. As we are so early into the process, this won’t be super in depth breakdowns of the guys, just giving an idea of what names to keep an eye out for.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

DRAFT: 1st Round: T Francis Mauigoa (Miami), T Spencer Fano (Utah), T Caleb Lomu (Utah), T/G Kadyn Proctor (ALA). 2nd Round: C Jake Salughter (Florida), C Connor Lew (Auburn), T Gennings Dunker (Iowa), T Trevor Goosby (Texas), T Isaiah World (Oregon). 3rd Round: C Parker Railsford (ALA), 4th-5th: C Logan Jones (Iowa), C Iapani Laloulo (Oregon).

I am going to stick with essentially the first 2 rounds for tackles, as the Lions will likely need to draft one of these guys early, as they need a legitimate starter who can make a big difference immediately. Center on the other hand, is a position where you can generally get a solid payer a bit later, and most don’t get picked first round due to positional value. Personally, I prefer the route of Frazier playing tackle and the Lions either moving Ratledge to center and drafting a guard, or Ratledge staying at guard. Preferably, I’d move Frazier to tackle, leave Ratledge at guard, and draft one of the centers. If possible, it would be ideal to sign a good center in free agency, because that is a spot you generally want a veteran leader. I am a big fan of Slaughter early, or even taking one of the later guys. I don’t love the idea of making a guy play a position for the first time in the NFL, and Ratledge has looked pretty good at right guard. This would open up our first round pick for essentially anything. I prefer taking an edge, whether it be at 17 or a trade, up or down. I like the idea of trading up for a Rueben Bain, or Arvell Reese if either are available around pick 10, but there’s a high chance they are long gone by then. I would also be very open to trading down, as the Lions don’t have a third this year, and the talent gap from 17 to say 24 is not that big, especially at the edge position.

FREE AGENCY: T: Braden Smith (29), $14M AAV. Braxton Jones (26), $5M AAV. G: David Edwards (29), $19.2M AAV. Joel Bitonio (34), $12M AAV. C: Tyler Linderbaum (26), $18M AAV. Connor McGovern (28), $16M AAV. Cade Mays (26), $12M AAV.

Obviously, free agency would be a much richer route, but you could also save draft capital for other positions if you go this route. In my opinion, the Lions aren’t really in a position to pay an offensive lineman more than $15 million per year, so that takes off a solid portion of the names. However, Tyler Linderbaum would be my number one target, if Ratledge isn’t the future center. If he is, you have more ability to sign a versatile player. Linderbaum is likely to be highly sought after and will be highly compensated, so the $18 million projection is probably quite a bit off. The Lions are in a position where they desperately need to add another stud offensive Linemen, and they will have multiple different avenues to fill the need. I would be somewhat surprised if they go the free agency route, unless it’s a one to one Taylor Decker replacement, as his retirement would open over $20 million in cap next year. Either way you slice it, the Lions have a few big needs, but will also have the ability to fill them if they do it the right way. Detroit is in an odd spot right now, as true super bowl contenders that just need a few pieces to get over the hump.

No 3: Hire a top tier Offensive Coordinator.

Regardless of whether Dan Campbell will be calling plays or not, the Lions desperately need to go get an offensive coordinator that can ease some of the burden on Campbell overall. I personally believe finding someone who can call plays would be the best idea, as Campbell had somewhat of an up and down season as play caller. I also think Campbell would benefit from only handling management responsibilities, as the Lions lacked some of that as the season went on.

HIRED Drew Petzing/Mike Kafka.

Petzing was a bit of a surprise hire, but a good one nonetheless. He spent the past 3 seasons in Arizona as their offensive coordinator, where he saw moderate success. However, the Cardinals offense suffered a plethora of injuries every season, and Petzing coached them to an elite run game in 2023 and 2024. There are some understandable gripes with the hire, seeing as Petzing never really had that much success passing, having only one season of ranking top 15 statistically. Also, the run game took a bit of a dip when their offensive line coach Klayton Adams left for Dallas in 2025, who had a top 10 run game while the Cardinals ranked in the bottom 5 for most statistics. With that said, Petzing never had an even above average offensive line his entire time in Arizona, nor did he have consistency in the backfield, or at receiver. The only real consistency during his time was Trey McBride, and you could say Petzing had a lot to do with his success. The Lions added someone they feel fits personality wise, while also finding someone who wont try to come in and completely tear down the offense. McDaniel or Daboll likely would have come in with their own systems, which would derail all the progress the Lions have made as an elite offense the past two years. On top of that, the Lions also hired one of my favorite names in the cycle in Mike Kafka. He is not the true offensive coordinator, but he will likely have a lot to do with how the offense operates. It is always better to have more minds to bounce ideas off of, and more people to come up with their own ideas.

No. 4: Adjust the defensive line.

As I mentioned before, the Lions lost the line of scrimmage way too often this season, and I believe that was the main reason for the poor play down the stretch. The defensive line was a big letdown, as it seemed to be a pretty deep area for us coming in. Obviously you have stud rusher Aidan Hutchinson, along with Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, and first round pick Tyleik Williams. Reader is likely on his way out this off-season, as he is a free agent, and will likely ask for more money than the Lions will be willing to pay. McNeill is probably the biggest let down of the group, as he was signed to a huge deal last season, but he is coming off of a season ending ACL injury, and was being played out of position quite a bit over the season. Williams should also take a step, as his rookie season wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t quite what you expect from a first round pick. Hutchinson was coming off his gruesome leg injury, but he still had a pretty good season overall, although a bit underwhelming statistically. You also have Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had a very solid season himself with 11 sacks, but he is 31 and entering free agency, so it’s likely he does not return. Depending what happens with Frazier/Ratledge, your first round pick should either be an offensive or defensive linemen, almost no matter what. Luckily, Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal are still under contract after missing the entirety of the 2025 season, which adds depth. You also have guys like Roy Lopez entering free agency, and we should try to get him back, but he may have played himself into a bigger contract.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

As we all know, the Lions need help along the defensive line. I think we need mostly edge help, but could also take a defensive tackle depending.

DRAFT: 1st Round: DL Peter Woods (CLEM), DL Caleb Banks (UF), DL Amauri Washington (ORE), ED Rueben Bain (MIA), ED Keldric Faulk (AUB), ED David Bailey (TTU), ED Cashius Howell (TAM), ED TJ Parker (CLEM), ED Zion Young (MIZZ). 2nd Round: DL Kayden McDonald (OSU), DL Lee Hunter (TTU), DL Christen Miller (UGA), DL Domanique Orange (ISU), ED Akeem Mesidor (MIA), ED LT Overton (ALA), ED R Mason Thomas (OK), ED Gabe Jacas (ILL).

I decided to stick with first and second round prospects along the defensive line, as the Lions will need a legit day one starter there, and we don’t have a third round pick. However, there are a lot of solid prospects from the later rounds as well, which we will have an article about as we get closer to draft day. As you can see, there are a lot of options in the first two rounds alone, which bodes well for the Lions. Detroit probably should use their first two picks on the trenches, and need to get starters with both picks.
Bain or Woods is very unlikely, as a trade up would be necessary, but all of the other players could definitely be available at pick 17. There are a decent amount of impact players Detroit could add in April.
This class isn’t necessarily amazing, as it doesn’t have a ton of the top end elite talent we normally see. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t good players. It is a pretty deep year along the defensive line in general. I could see the Lions finding some gems in the middle rounds, but we will save that for the postseason. Stay tuned for our in-depth draft articles.

FREE AGENCY: ED Trey Hendrickson (29), $25M AAV. ED Khalil Mack (35), $15M AAV. ED Kwity Paye (27), $17M AAV. ED Arnold Ebiketie (26), $9M AAV. ED Jaelan Phillips (26), $17M AAV. DL David Onyemata (33), $8M AAV. DL John Franlin-Myers (29), $7.5M AAV.

In terms of interior defensive linemen, there isn’t really a ton of “top end” talent, but there are a handful of cheaper, productive veterans. I would not expect the Lions to throw a ton of money into free agency, as they just don’t have it, but being a team who needs help, that’s likely the best option for them. However, there are a handful of edge defenders that could be affordable, and would make sense. You have older, one year contract types along with younger, one year ‘prove it’ types, and everything in between. I would like to both add interior and edge defenders, and would like to see the Lions double dip at the edge, adding in both the draft and free agency. It doesn’t seem Brad Holmes agrees though, as he has neglected that position recently. Personally, I would probably draft an interior linemen in the mid rounds, and either draft an edge early or pony up some dough for a legit starter, and draft one later.

Potential Re-Signings: DL DJ Reader, DL Roy Lopez, ED Marcus Davenport, ED Al-Quadin Muhammad, ED Tyrus Wheat.

Personally, I wouldn’t bring back anyone other than Roy Lopez. Reader just wasn’t very good for us, and will likely command a decent price. Lopez was a very solid rotational piece, but he may have played himself into some money the Lions cant afford. Davenport was meh, so depending on price I’d be ok with bringing him back. Muhammad will likely command more than we are willing to give, and being 31 he should take the best offer. Wheat was a decent rotational piece I wouldn’t mind bringing back, and he should be cheap. Either way, the Lions need to find upgrades instead of retreads.

No. 5: DEPTH!

At the end of the day, Detroit needs more depth all over the roster. Backup quarterback, third running back, second and third tight ends, backups along the entire offensive line, depth along the defensive line, linebackers, and defensive backs. Lets break this down by position.

QB: While Goff is the obvious starter, and Allen did a decent job as a backup, I don’t feel confident in what we have behind Goff. I think the Lions would be smart to try to find a veteran signal caller in free agency like a Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, Marcus Mariota, Mitch Trubisky, Tyrod Taylor, Kenny Pickett, or Jimmy Garoppolo. All of these names are likely better than Allen currently, and would add some starter experience.

RB: There’s a large question surrounding the Lions backfield: is David Montgomery here to stay? A lot of people think he should be traded, but I don’t think it will happen. Either way, he is entering his 30’s and the Lions need a third running back, so it would be smart to draft one late this year.

WR: Receiver might be the only spot I don’t think needs much. You have a very good top three, and you have guys like Lovett, Meeks, and Cunningham currently on roster, but I could still see the Lions adding either a veteran or a rookie or both, but it wont be a big move. They do need to re-sign or replace Khalif Raymond, but I could see Lovett or Meeks taking that spot.

TE: Tight end is one of the spots we need to add depth the most, as new OC Drew Petzing loves to use 12 and 13 personnel, and the Lions have struggled with tight ends when Laporta is not playing. I would expect a free agent to be brought in, and possibly a late round draft pick. However, I do think the Lions like what hey have in Wright, and will likely look to add a veteran blocker in free agency.

OL: As we talked about before, the Lions need starters along the offensive line. However, depth is also a need, because as of now there are only three guards and two centers under contract, and one of those is more of a true practice squad player. The Lions will likely look to add a few veteran depth guys as they have over the past few years.

DL: Similar to the offensive line, the defensive line needs starters as well as depth. The interior defensive line needs to be deeper, and needs more pass rush presence. Edge really needs a starter and depth, which I expect the Lions to be somewhat aggressive about in both the draft and free agency.

LB: The Lions could lose both Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez to free agency, leaving them with just Barnes and Campbell. This means the Lions have to be aggressive in pursuing a starter level player, as well as a multitude of backups. Detroit has been pretty good at finding veteran linebackers that can still play, so I’m not too worried about it. I also think Rodriguez is likely to be re-signed, which would get us another starter. There’s a plethora of linebackers available that Detroit could get for cheap.

CB: Corner is one of the more polarizing positions for the Lions. You have first round pick Terrion Arnold, and DJ Reed who you just paid handsomely, but there’s not a lot to like outside of that, and even those guys worry me a bit. The Lions really need to go after another true starter, whether in the nickel or outside. Also, with Branch and Joseph having injuries, it makes the corner spot that much more valuable. I personally think the Lions have to be pretty aggressive and fill these spots, or they could be in for a rude awakening next season.

S: Last but not least, safety is a spot where there are just too many questions marks. Branch tore his achilles late last season, while Joseph is dealing with arthritic knees. Neither situation makes me feel good, but Joseph’s is substantially worse, as he may actually never be the same again. Branch’s injury is unfortunate of course, but he can come back. On top of that, the Lions don’t have much in terms of depth. Thomas Harper was solid last year, but he’s the only guy we have signed that I see as a true depth piece. It will be a hard job for Holmes to make these decisions this off-season.

I think we all agree, this season was a huge disappointment. However, it’s not time for the Lions to tuck their tails and call it. This is the biggest off-season in Brad Holmes’ career by far, as this team will likely go how the off-season goes. Detroit has a handful of moves they have to make, but if they can make the right ones, the Lions could be the team hoisting the Lombardi in February of 2027.

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